


The Avatar's Guardian/Winter

by ContagiouslyWeird



Series: The Guardian Spirit Trilogy [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Lots of Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-12-02 00:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11497692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ContagiouslyWeird/pseuds/ContagiouslyWeird
Summary: Xena was saved by Avatar Roku when she was a baby and became bound to the next Avatar in the cycle. A century after a storm seals her and her young charge in an iceberg they are freed by Water Tribe Siblings, Katara and Sokka. In this new time, protecting the Avatar will be harder then ever and Xena isn't sure that she's ready. Especially, when a certain Fire Nation Prince seems so intent on capturing him. A Zuko/OC story. (I don't own A: TLA; only my own ideas and OCs) First in the Guardian Spirit Trilogy.





	1. Prologue

I was born at the end of spring as the days grew longer and the darkness of night only lasted for an hour. As if that was not enough of an omen, I came into this world at dusk when for a brief moment both the sun and the moon were in the sky. It was a long and difficult birth and my mother would have died if not for the skilled waterbender healers in our tribe. As skilled as they were, they were not skilled enough to heal me. I didn’t cry or scream when I was born and was barely breathing. My grandfather begged for the aid of his old friend Avatar Roku in hopes that his power would be enough.

Roku took me to the Spirit Oasis where he stood in the center of the oasis with Tui and La until midnight, healing me with a mix of airbending, waterbending, and a bending that I never knew about until after the war. Somehow in that process, Roku unknowingly bound my very life essence into the cycle of the Avatar. By saving my life, he had set me upon a path of hardship and loss, anger and hatred, sorrow and regret, and also of great happiness and love.

This is my story, but it is all the story of Roku’s successor and the friends we met along our journey. It is also the story of the man I love, the bravest and most honorable man I have ever met. Of course, when I first met him, he was barely into adulthood and was -- at the time -- my greatest enemy.

 **_Winter,_ ** Spring, Summer, Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my stories on this site can also be found here: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4512222/Avatar-Wolfheart
> 
> I'm in the process of posting all my stories on Fanfiction.net to this website as well. Edited by good friend IRL, Lily.


	2. The Water Tribe Siblings

Xena knew she should have tried to stop Aang from leaving the temple, but she also knew that Aang would never have listened to her. There had been a rift between them ever since she had told him the truth. If it weren't for his pacifist nature, he probably would have pushed her out of Appa's saddle when she insisted on coming with him. They had spent the entire flight in silence up until Aang flew them straight into a storm.

"Aang, we need to land!" She shouted to him as she strapped their packs down.

"We're above the ocean, there's no place to land," He replied, tugging at Appa's reins in an effort to lead the air bison away from the storm.

Pushing strands of wet hair out of her face, Xena stood and carefully made her way toward the front of the saddle. Lightning arched across the sky with a thunderous boom that startled Appa. The bison's sudden erratic movement upset the girl's balance and she slipped on the soaked saddle before tumbling over the edge with a panicked scream.

"Xena!" Aang released the reins with one hand in an effort to grab her hand and save her.

Skin slick from the pouring rain, her hand slipped out of his. Battered by the wind and rain, Xena forced herself to spread her arms and legs out to slow her fall as the monks at the temple had taught her. Aang tugged sharply at Appa's reins, maneuvering the air bison into a dive. He drew as close as he could to Xena before stretching his hand out to her. She can feel his fear through their bond as she stretched out her own hand.

Somehow she managed to grasp his wrist tightly, the fabric giving her grip traction. Before Aang could pull her to safety, a large wave from the turbulent ocean crashed over the top of them. The freezing water yanked them apart, pushing them downward and away from each other. Her vision began to fade as she struggled to reach the surface for life-giving air.

Aang's power surged through their bond as he whipped a sphere around them and his animal companion. With the last of her strength, Xena managed to settle her hands on his shoulders in support. The last thing she saw was the water rapidly beginning to freeze around their sphere of air.

lxxxXXXxxxl

Xena couldn't remember the last time she had slept that well. She probably would have slept longer if it weren't for the cold. In fact, the last time she had been this cold was during her training in the South Pole. She jolted into a sitting position quickly, staring in disbelief at the large hollow of snow and ice she found herself lying in.

Shivering, she instinctively scooted backward towards the warm mass that was Appa. The short sleeves of her dark orange shirt and the black capris she wore were not suited for this environment, and her black vest and arm wrappings were doing nothing to keep her warm either. Distracted by the cold, it took her a moment to realize that Aang was nowhere in sight. She quickly jumped to her feet, forgetting the cold.

Ever since Roku had saved her life as a child, Xena was able to sense the temperature of her surroundings and objects around her. It was a type of mental sight known as heat vision. It was that mental sight she used now in combination with her bond to Aang. Beyond the steep slope of the icy hollow, she could sense Aang and two others. Despite being unable to sense any fear from her young charge, Xena was still wary. Instead of walking normally across the ice, she slid each foot forward as if she was skating, muting any sound of her passage. Fully aware that she was not currently armed, she peered cautiously over the ridge of ice to assess the situation.

Her heart clenched in recognition at the sight of the blue parkas, bringing with it memories of her old home. Shaking off the memories, she returned to her observation. One of the parka-wearers was a boy who couldn’t have been much older than Xena, and slightly behind him was a girl who was staring in awe at a confused looking Aang. A whale bone club with a blue leather wrapped handle lay on the ground to Aang's right. The girl did not look much like a fighter and the boy's stance was all wrong for him to be trained. He lightly poked Aang with a spear and that's all it took to cause Xena to burst into motion.

The three looked up in surprise as she quickly slid down the icy ridge and put herself between Aang and the strangers. The boy quickly pointed his spear at her only for it to be sent flying from his hands with a well-placed blow from the club Xena had smoothly flipped off the ice and into her hand with her foot.

"Xena?" Aang asked in confusion and surprise.

"Are you alright?" She asked him without turning from the other boy.

"I'm fine and I don't need your protection, Xenia."

She winced at his tone and the use of her full name. It seemed that he was still angry with her. A groan echoed across the ice from behind them and Aang quickly began to climb back over the ridge. Xena dropped the club and followed him, ignoring the still shocked teenagers.

"Aang, wait."

He ignored her in favor of checking on Appa. "Wake up, buddy."

"Aang-" She tried to start again, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He stopped trying to lift the bison's head and brushed her hand off. "Did you come with me because you wanted to or because of your duty?"

"Umm," She replied awkwardly, "I came because I wanted to make sure you were alright."

She could tell by his expression that it was the wrong thing to say. Appa woke before the young monk could respond, licking them both with a sleepy groan. Xena gritted her teeth as Aang quickly allowed himself to become distracted by the bison. Leave it to an airbender to avoid confrontation.

"What is that thing?"

Xena glanced at the two teenagers who had followed them. The boy had retrieved his spear and club and was eyeing her warily.

"Appa's not a thing. He's my flying bison," Aang replied, patting Appa on the nose.

"Right," The boy drawled, "And this is my flying sister, Katara."

So they were siblings. Xena shuffled her feet thoughtfully, noting for the first time the shape of his spear. It was a fishing spear, and while perfect for stabbing fish in the water, it was by no means a fighting weapon. But why would two teenagers be out fishing by themselves?

"Why are you barefoot?" The boy suddenly demanded. "And what's with your clothes? Do you want to freeze to death?"

"I wasn't planning for snow and ice," She replied dryly.

Appa made a low rumbling sound behind her, inhaling sharply. Eyes widening, both Xena and Aang duck as the bison sneezes, coating the boy in green mucus. She winced in sympathy as the boy made various sounds of disgust before trying to clean himself with snow.

"Don't worry. It'll wash out," Aang tried to reassure him. "Probably."

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe, correct?"

Xena directed the question to the boy's sister, but it was the boy who responded, pointing his spear at her suspiciously. "Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light; they were probably trying to signal the Fire Navy."

"Stop overreacting. It was just a simple question," His sister replied with an eye roll. "I'm Katara and the paranoid one is my brother, Sokka."

"I'm -" Aang started and then sneezed, the explosive exhale launching him skyward. He slid back down the side of the ridge. "I'm Aang and this is . . . Xenia."

Xena flinched at Aang's hesitation before once again calling her by her full name.

"You just . . ." Sokka stared at Aang in shock. "You just sneezed and flew twenty feet into the air."

"Huh, that's a new record," Aang replied nonchalantly, looking up as if trying to confirm how high he'd flown.

"You're an airbender!" Katara exclaimed in shock and awe, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

Xena frowned. Katara's surprise was strange to her. This was not the first time airbenders had visited the Water Tribe. In fact, the monks at the Air Temple often conducted trade with the Water Tribe, exchanging fruits and vegetables for leather to craft book covers and whale bones to create beads. Xena often accompanied the elder monks to make sure no one tried to take advantage of the monks generous nature. She found the snow and ice as familiar as Aang found the Southern Temple.

"Giant bolts of light, scary girls, flying bison, and now _airbenders_ ," Sokka started, walking away. "I think I have Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where things actually make sense."

He stopped shortly after making that declaration, staring at the distant ice separated from them by a large expanse of water too large to get across without having to swim. They were stranded until the water refroze, as swimming across would be suicide in these cold temperatures. In fact, Xena's outfit would be the death of her even out of the water if she didn't change soon.

"We could give you a lift," Aang suggested as Xena quickly climbed into Appa's saddle to find warmer clothes and a pair of shoes.

"We would love a ride," Katara accepted happily and took a step toward Appa.

Sokka stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Oh no! There is no way we're getting on that fluffy snot monster."

"Are we going to wait around hoping some other monster will come and offer a ride before we freeze to death?" She pulled away from him and allowed Aang to help her up into the saddle.

Xena smiled in amusement, pulling on a light blue parka she had retrieved from her pack. Like Katara's parka, hers had white fur on the inside. However, unlike Katara's parka, hers is much shorter and only fell to mid thigh. She dug through the pack again in search of her boots as Aang helped Sokka, who had given into logic, into the saddle. Her pack was huge in comparison to Aang’s as she had packed it under the impression that they would be moving. Depending on how long Aang was determined to avoid the Air Temple, it had probably been a smart move.

"Alright, new time flyers," Aang started with a grin. "For safety purposes, please stay seated and keep your arms and legs in the saddle at all times. Yip yip!"

Appa jumped into the air as Aang flicked the reins, but instead of flying, the bison landed in the water with a splash. Aang tried uselessly to coax him into flying as Appa let out a groan and continued to swim.

"Real impressive," Sokka said sarcastically, before wincing as his sister elbowed him in the side.

Aang laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Aha, I knew I packed them!" Xena exclaimed as she pulled out a pair of boots. "It feels like it's been forever since I've last worn these."

"Do you not normally wear shoes where you're from?" Katara asked curiously.

"Actually I'm from the Northern Water Tribe," Xena answered as she slid the boots on. "I moved to the Southern Air Temple when I was thirteen and they keep the temple so clean that shoes aren't mandatory."

"If you're from the Northern Water Tribe does that mean you're a bender?" Katara asked in excitement.

Xena tensed and tugged harder than necessary on one of her boot straps.

" _Is that the best you can do, Xenia. Widen your stance and pull your hands closer to your body. We're not leaving until you get this move right."_

"I don't bend," She answered, keeping her tone neutral.

"It's probably a good thing you don't know how to bend, otherwise Katara would be pestering you to teach her."

"You're a waterbender?" Aang asked Katara with a grin.

"Yeah, but not a very good one."

Xena paused, once again feeling that something was not right. The Southern Water Tribe she knew was filled with waterbenders. Katara shouldn't even need to ask a stranger to teach her how to waterbend.

An awkward silence hung between them after that, only broken occasionally by Sokka giving directions to Aang. Xena settled against the back of the saddle with her arms crossed, staring out over the water, ice, and snow. In some locations, there were channels cut through sections of ice that were so thick that it must have taken years to freeze and therefore should never have melted. The only thing Xena knew that could possibly have broken ice that thick was . . .

"Icebreakers."

"Did you say something?"

"Just thinking out loud."

Silence fell again for a few minutes before Katara broke it again. "So I was wondering - with you being an airbender and all - if you knew what happened to the Avatar?"

"Oh, well, I never met him personally," Aang lied nervously. "But I knew people who had. Sorry."

"What about you, Xenia?"

"There's more than one Air Temple," She answered, choosing her words carefully. "And each is home to so many Air Nomads that it would be impossible to remember all their names and faces. The chance of someone meeting the Avatar and knowing about it is slim."

Xena's life was so filled with secrets that she refused to lie unless she had no other choice. She had discovered quickly that the easiest way to answer a question without lying was to say something that allowed other people to come to their own conclusions. Katara accepted the answer easily and Xena relaxed.

"What about his Guardian? She grew up in the Northern Water Tribe, didn't she?" Katara asked next.

"Come on, Katara. You know that the Avatar's Guardian is just a myth."

"A myth?" Xena asked in surprise.

Sure, people were shocked when they first found out about the Guardian, but no one had ever denied her existence before.

"It's so obvious. No one besides the Avatar has ever been able to bend more than one element. There's no such thing as a double bender, so it's impossible for the Avatar's Guardian to exist since she supposedly bends both water and-"

"Dualbender."

"What?"

"Dualbender," Xena repeated. "You're right that double benders don't exist. However, there is such a thing as a dualbender. It's been the correct term for a two element bender since the Guardian first started bending."

"So she is real?" Katara asked, expression eager for more information.

"As real as you or me," Xena confirmed.

"So then you've met her."

"Well," Xena drawled quietly, buying a second to think. "The Northern Water Tribe is bigger than an Air Temple. I used to live with my mother in the North West District - one of the poorer residential areas - and the Guardian's father owns a mansion quite close to the Ice Palace."

She glanced at Aang, unsurprised to see him staring at her with a strange contemplative expression. It was the first time he had heard about where she used to live. In fact, it was probably the first time he had heard anything about her early childhood and it didn't line up with what he had always heard about "The Pride of the Northern Water Tribe."

lxxxXXXxxxl

"Xenia."

Xena was awake before Katara started shaking her. There was once a time when she was able to sleep in, but as the years passed, she quickly found herself waking up with the dawn. Unfortunately, losing the ability to sleep in did nothing to make her a morning person and she often spent her mornings meditating until she was actually ready to crawl out of bed.

"Everyone's waiting to meet Aang and you," Katara told her once she had sat up.

"Where is Aang?" Xena asked, grabbing her vest from the foot of the bed that had been loaned to her.

"He's still asleep in Sokka's tent. I wanted to wake you up before I went to get him," The girl answered before handing Xena a bowl of thin fish stew.

Xena couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she smelled the simple meal. "It's been awhile since I've had a fish stew. Or any stew with meat in it."

"The Air Nomads never made stew."

"Vegetable stew." Xena shrugged at Katara's surprised expression. "They're vegetarian."

"Oh, should I make something different for Aang then," She asked nervously. "I'm sure I can find some sea prunes."

"He'd probably be alright with ochazuke*." Katara shifted uncomfortably and Xena lowered the stew bowl. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Katara waved off her concern. "I'm going to go get Aang and see about finding some rice."

Xena stared after the girl as she left, finishing her stew in contemplative silence. The more she saw and heard, the more convinced she became that something was not right. She set aside the bowl when she was done and headed over to her pack. The item she was looking for was at the very bottom and she hesitated for a moment before pulling it out. The whalebone knife was yellow with age, but the blade was still razor sharp. The hilt had been recently rewrapped with a strip of blue leather which warmed up quickly in her grasp. She sheathed it and tucked it into the back of her belt before grabbing her parka. Sokka arrived a second later.

"Katara asked me to come get you."

She nodded and shot a brief glance at the bedroll attached to her pack before following the Water Tribe boy outside. Aang stood slightly behind Katara, looking uncomfortable with the attention of a small group of villagers. Xena was quick to note the absence of any men younger than fifty or older than nine. None of these villagers were ones she had seen before.

"Aang, Xenia, this is the entire village," Katara introduced. "Entire village, this is Aang and Xenia."

Aang bowed respectfully to them in the traditional Air Nomad fashion, closed fist pressed against the open palm of his other hand, and Xena sighed as the villagers back away slightly. She closed her right hand into a fist and wrapped her left hand over the top of the right before bowing. The villagers relaxed slightly in recognition of the Water Tribe style bow but still seemed unsure of the strangers.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Aang asked nervously before glancing down at his clothes. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"

An old woman stepped out of the group to answer before either of the siblings or Xena could answer. "It's just that we haven't seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my grandchildren found you."

"Extinct?" Aang repeated in confusion.

Xena spun the new information around in her head and begun making a terrible connection.

"Aang, Xenia, this is my grandmother." Katara's introduction briefly distracted Xena.

"Call me Gran Gran."

Sokka suddenly snatched the staff out of Aang's hand. "Is this a weapon? You can't stab anything with this."

Xena ignored the two boys as Aang took back his staff and revealed the glider wings. A hundred years since they had last seen an airbender. The only way that was true was if she and Aang had been frozen in that iceberg for a hundred years. If that was true then all their friends and family were . . .

"Are you alright, Xenia?" Katara asked worriedly. "You look like you're going to be sick?"

"Who are you at war with?" Xena demanded, turning to her.

"What?" Katara asked in surprise.

"There are no warriors in this village," Xena replied. "The only reason they would all be gone is if they were at war. Who are they fighting?"

"The Fire Nation."

"For how long?"

"The last hundred years. How long were you in that iceberg, Xenia?"

Before Xena could reply, Gran Gran called Katara away to work on chores. She turned to watch a smiling and laughing Aang be dragged away by a group of children. She feared the loss of that smile when he came to the same realization as her.

"Is it normal for airbenders not to be bothered by the cold?" Sokka asked, looking up from rebuilding his watch tower that Aang had damaged while showing off his gliding skills.

"Normal for Aang," She replied before turning to face the Water Tribe boy. "I want to know everything that's happened in the last one hundred years."

Sokka paused. "I can tell you some, but it might be best if you speak with Gran Gran."

lxxxXXXxxxl

Genocide. The first time Xena had heard the word was when she was learning the early history of the Avatar. She never heard it used for any other moment in history until now. The genocide of the Air Nomads started the war that had lasted the one hundred years she and Aang were trapped in the iceberg. The genocide had occurred two months after they had run away. The monks had told the Avatar his identity four years early so that he would have time to learn the elements and prevent the war, but even if he had stayed, Aang wouldn't have had the time to learn enough to save his people. Following that genocide were the raids on the Southern Water Tribe to make sure that the next Avatar would not be born among them as an influential fortune teller had predicted. It was because of these raids that Katara was the only waterbender in the South.

Gran Gran and the other Water Tribe women thankfully left Xena to grieve in peace as they continued to work on making seaweed bread. Her face was buried in her hands, uncaring of the flour on her hands. Flour that had been donated from the few supplies that Aang had actually packed before running away. Since the genocide, the Southern Water Tribe were unable to trade with the Air Nomads and then after the raids from the Fire Nation they had lost the ability to trade at all. The tribe had tried to ration out their stored flour and make it last for as long as possible, but it had run out shortly after Katara and Sokka's parents were born. However, the recipe for seaweed bread and cookies lived on in the minds of the elderly women.

A gasp of shock from the women had Xena raising her head. An orange flare shot up into the sky and seemed to hover ominously in the air for a moment before beginning its descent to the ground. A surge of guilt and worry seeped through the bond Xena shared with Aang.

"Oh, Aang. What did you do this time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by a friend IRL who you can call Lily.


	3. The Return

When Xena first met Aang, she knew that she would protect him even if it wasn't her duty to. His kindness and innocence shone as bright as a light in the dark and she couldn't help wanting to make sure that light never went out. Keeping him safe wasn't an easy task when the boy attracted and caused so much trouble without even meaning to. One time Aang and his friend Kuzon stole a dragon egg from a band of poachers in order to return it to its parents. The adult dragon would have burnt them to a crisp if it weren't for Xena and her friends. After finally returning the egg, the poachers came after the two younger boys for revenge and one of Xena's friends, a firebender named Drake, ended up with a broken arm in the ensuing fight. Drake's father had not been happy and quickly used the influence of his noble blood to not only have the poachers fined double the usual amount, but managed to have them placed in jail for an entire year.

The repercussions for Aang's actions, this time, had the potential to be far worse than the dragon egg incident. The flare had barely fallen out of sight before Sokka found and started yelling at Xena. Gran Gran tried to calm the boy down, but by that point, Sokka had already made it perfectly clear that he wanted Xena and Aang to leave their village. Xena offered no argument as she dusted the flour off her hands and went to retrieve her pack. The Water Tribe boy followed her, ranting all the while.

"Are you even listening to me?!" He demanded after pausing to catch his breath.

"Not really," She answered, tossing her pack up into Appa's saddle.

The bison let out a soft rumbling sound without lifting his head. She gently scratched at the soft fur above his nose before climbing up to tie the reins to his horns. The cheering of children informed them of Aang and Katara's return a few minuted later. Sokka stormed towards them, the rest of the villagers gathering behind him. Xena finished tying the reins and jumped down from Appa's head.

"I knew it, you signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're going to lead them straight to us!"

Katara stepped between her brother and Aang. "Aang didn't mean to do anything. It was an accident."

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap and well, we . . . we boobied right into it," Aang replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"What ship?" Xena asked curiously.

"A Fire Navy icebreaker. It's been trapped in the ice for decades," Sokka answered.

"Katara, you knew you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger," Gran Gran told her.

Aang stepped forward as Katara looked down guiltily. "Don't blame, Katara. I brought her there . . . It's my fault."

"Ah-ha, the traitor confesses. Warriors, away from the enemy. The foreigners are banished from our village."

"You can't banish them," Katara protested.

Xena led Appa around the group of bystanders and to a clearer area where Appa could potentially take off from. She could point out so many idiotic things in their argument, but she also knew that Sokka had a point. It was in her best interest to stay out of it. There was absolutely no need for her to acknowledge the loud voice in the back of her head - that sounded strangely like her old friend Temari - chastising her for being afraid that Aang would get angry at her for protecting him again.

"I can and I am," Sokka replied and then pointed at Aang. "I promised Dad that I would protect you from threats like him."

"Aang's not a threat. Can't you see that he's brought us something we haven't had in awhile? Fun.

"Fun!" Sokka repeated. "You can't fight firebenders with fun."

_ Stay out of it, Xena. Just stay out of- _

"You can't fight without good troop morale and 'fun' does happen to be one way of keeping morale high."

_ Monkey feathers. _

Sokka opened his mouth argumentatively and then closed it a second later unable to come up with a good retort. Instead, he pointed out towards the expanse of white leading from the village. "You're still banished!"

"Gran Gran, will you please help me talk some sense into him?" Katara begged, turning to her grandmother.

The elder glanced briefly at Xena and then Aang before replying to her granddaughter. "Katara, you know that going on that ship was off limits. I don't often get the chance to say that Sokka is right-"

"Hey!"

"-But in this case, he is. The airbender and his friend need to leave."

"Fine!" Katara shouted and grabbed Aang by the arm. "If they're banished then I'm banished too! Come on, Aang."

"Where do you think you're going?" Sokka demanded as Katara pulled Aang towards Xena and Appa.

"To find a waterbender. Aang and Xena are taking me to the North Pole."

"We are? Gre-"

"No! I am not going to the North Pole."

Everyone turned to stare at Xena in surprise that she had cut Aang off in firm denial. There was a haunted look in her brown eyes, and her already pale skin had somehow become even paler.

"Would you really choose them over your own tribe? Your own family?" Sokka said after a moment's pause.

Aang glanced at Xena and then the villagers before turning fully to Katara. "Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family."

"So this is goodbye?"

"Not a goodbye," Xena started, tension draining from her body in her relief.

"Only a see you later," Aang finished with her.

It was a saying that they and their mutual friends had adopted from one of their more eccentric friends. Using it now, Xena realized that it was the last thing she had said to the people she had cared for most and now a hundred years and some months later, it became clear to her that most of those friends she would never see again. How long did they search before they realized that "see you later" was instead a "goodbye forever?"

"Where will you go?" Katara asked, pulling Xena out of her dark thoughts.

"I guess we should go back home and look for the airbenders." A horrified look appeared on Aang's face. "I haven't cleaned my room in over a hundred years. Not looking forward to that."

He jumped onto Appa's head with help from some airbending and turned back to the villagers as Xena quickly climbed into the saddle. "It was nice meeting everyone."

"Let's see your  _ buffalo _ fly now, Airboy," Sokka taunted.

"C'mon, Appa. I know you can do it," Aang encouraged, not bothering to correct the Water Tribe boy. "Yip yip."

Appa growled tiredly and proceeded to walk away from the village with a slow lumbering gait.

"That's what I thought!" Sokka shouted after them, provoking a frown from Xena.

lxxxXXXxxxl

Aang slid off Appa's head as soon as the bison collapsed into the snow with a quiet grumble. He didn't turn as Xena jumped down behind him, but instead kicked at the snow silently.

"Aang-"

"I know I messed up," He cut her off. "I don't need the lecture."

"Shut up," She ordered and he turned to face her in surprise. "This time,  _ I _ get to speak and  _ you _ get to listen."

Xena didn't get angry often, but when she did it was always a quiet anger. The only time Aang had ever seen her raise her voice was when she argued with Temari. Her quiet anger always seemed scarier to Aang than when she yelled because it was impossible to tell just how angry she really was. Seeing Xena's restrained anger directed at him for the first time in what seemed like forever, Aang forced himself to bite his tongue and let her speak.

"I never asked for Avatar Roku to save my life and I  _ never  _ asked to become your Guardian. That role was decided by the spirits and backed by the chief of the Northern Water Tribe. I was forced to give up my childhood in order to be trained and to become the Sword that would protect you. I have gone through things that you couldn't even imagine. Suffered pain, that you couldn't even imagine. Moving to the Earth Kingdom and later the Fire Nation are two of the best things that have ever happened to me. Meeting my friends was another.

"Kaori was my first real friend and one of the strongest links I had to the Water Tribes. Tanvi helped me rebuild my confidence when I lost it and Temari pushed me to be more than just a sword. Raiden showed me the stars and told me myths when I felt as fragile as glass. And Drake . . . Drake taught me how to be free. Everything I learned from them Aang, led me to realize that I didn't want to be your Guardian. I wanted to have my own life and a destiny of my own choosing. Before I ever met you, I had already decided that I wanted nothing to do with you. In fact, I decided that I was going to run away."

Aang's hands clenched at his sides as Xena seemed to confirm his worst fears. She had only been his friend because it was her duty.

"But then I met you, Aang and everything changed. You asked me earlier if I came with you because it was my duty, the answer is yes. However, it's not because I am your Guardian or the Sword or whatever titles I have been given in the hundred years we've been in that iceberg. I came with you because you're like a little brother to me, Aang."

Aang hands relaxed as he gaped at her in shock. Xena's expression had shifted from angry to endearing and the tension had drained from her.

"And it's the duty of an older sister to always protect their younger brothers. And believe me, when I say that you don't make it easy. Your curiosity is something I have always found endearing; however, it does often lead you into troublesome situations - usually, because you don't think things through or because you ignore other people's counsel. Did Katara tell you the icebreaker was off limits?"

"Yes," He replied guiltily.

"So you ignored her and decided to go aboard anyway?"

"Yes."

"Did you fire the flare by messing with the machinery?"

"No. I was in a hurry and I wasn't looking where I was walking and I ended up tripping over a trip wire.

"Why were you in a hurry?"

"Katara told me about this war and I wanted to tell you. Xena, do you really think all the Air Nomads are dead?"

"I don't know, Aang. I hope not, but I really don't know."

The young monk took a seat in the snow by Appa's head with a quiet sigh. Xena stared out over the ice and snow in silence, shoving her hands into the pockets of her parka. Each of her breaths created a cloud of condensation in the air. When she was younger, she used to enjoy being able to see her breath in the air. It had lost its novelty a long time ago, though.

"If I go on a short walk will I have to worry about you running off and getting into trouble." Aang shook his head. "Good. I shouldn't be too long. I just want to change my shirt and find some running water to get rid of this concealer."

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Xena had only been able to wash away the concealer covering her upper arms and change into a Water Tribe blue short-sleeved shirt before Aang had run off back to the Southern Water Tribe village. She had sensed his fear for the villagers and his determination to protect them automatically, but by the time she had gotten back to Appa, he was already gone. Cursing vibrantly, she dropped her parka onto the snowy ground. There's was only one way she was going to catch up to him and it was going to require her to do something she hated to do. Waterbending.

Sliding one foot back, she thrust her hands forward and created a trail of ice. Ice skating was a fine pastime for waterbenders and nonbenders alike in the Tribes, but it was also an excellent mode of transportation for waterbenders in a hurry. Xena was out of practice, but this particular move was one that she had practiced until it became muscle memory. She pushed off the ice hard, extending the icy path ahead of her as she went.

She understood Aang’s desire to protect the Southern Water Tribe, but he was by no means a fighter which was why he should have waited for Xena, or at the very least came to get her. Like it or not, Xena was a trained fighter who knew the sword fighting styles of all four nations and -- while loathing to -- she knew how to bend.

Xena slid to a stop in the snow, staring out across the unfrozen bay towards the village. A Fire Navy icebreaker had plowed right through the thick land-fast ice and into the village's wall, collapsing it and Sokka's unsteady watchtower. It would be easier to stay on the frozen ice and snow to get back to the village, but going straight across the bay would be faster. She shuffled her feet in split second indecision before the worry she sensed from Aang pushed her to action. Straight across, it was.

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"Man, I wish we could have gone ashore with the others. It's been ages since I've had any shore leave and I'm sick of this ship."

"Oh, give it a rest, Ryu. It's not like they're down there visiting with the locals. We're here for the Avatar. You know, the master of all four elements. Do you really want to be fighting that powerful of a man? Personally, I'm quite happy to stay here, where it's nice and safe."

The two soldiers leaned on the spears as they talked. The slimmer of the two who was glad to have been left aboard the ship was the first to hear the crackling of rapidly freezing ice.

"What in tarnation?" He questioned and stepped towards the ship railing to stare out at the bay, Ryu following closely behind.

Their jaws dropped in astonishment at the sight of a girl rapidly skating across the bay, water freezing in a path only a few inches in front of her feet. The waterbender dropped into a crouch for balance as she skated, holding her hands out flat above the water. The water responded as she straightened, following her motions to create an icy ramp in front of her. Frozen in disbelief, the soldiers made no movement as she shot past them, water droplets flying from the speed at which she moved. The droplets froze in the low temperature and pinged off their armor and the sides of the ship as she slid up the ramp and launched herself into the air and over the wall.

"We don't get paid enough," Ryu complained and his companion could only nod his head weakly.

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Split second decisions in a life or death situation were one of the many things that Xena had learned and learned well in her training. It took her half a second after she had launched herself over the wall to analyze the situation. Ten Fire Nation soldiers stood behind what appeared to be their commanding officer, watching as he punched fireballs at Aang. The young pacifist monk stood between the firebender and the villagers, spinning his staff to disperse the fire with airbending. Katara was helping a rather beat up looking Sokka to his feet off to the side while watching Aang worriedly. The young monk could barely keep up with the firebender and flames were beginning to fly off the edges of his staff, making the villagers cower away in fear.

With a ferocious battle cry, Xena spun in midair and formed a ramp of ice that led her down and around the Fire Nation soldiers to put her between Aang and the firebender. As she slid between them, she raised a wall of ice with one hand to block the barrage of fire before melting the ramp with the other hand, changing it into several wickedly sharp ice spikes.

"Xenia?!" "Xena?!"

The Guardian ignored the simultaneous shouts from Aang and the Water Tribe siblings, attention solely focused on the firebenders and keeping the ice spikes levitating around her. The firebender standing across from her wore his hair up in a topknot and there was a vicious looking burn scar covering his left eye. However, neither of those was what she noticed first. She saw that he was just a teenager only a few years older than her.

"Only a coward picks on women and children who can't fight back. If you want a fight, then I'll be your opponent."

In that brief moment when everyone awaited his response to Xena's challenge, he glanced briefly at the villagers behind her and she could see regret in his amber eyes. But then his gaze shifted back to her and he shifted into a battle stance and created dual fire daggers in his hands. Xena matched his stance with one of her own, dropping control over the ice spikes before creating her own weapons with bending.

Gasps come not only from the villagers behind her but from the disciplined soldiers as well at the sight of her own fire daggers. They were shorter than their commander's daggers, but the flame was much more controlled than his. The scarred firebender's stance faltered in surprise.

" _ You're _ the Avatar?! But I thought the airbender-"

"Oh, please," She cut him off with an eye roll. "Just because he's an airbender doesn't make him the Avatar. If you're assuming he is because he's the first airbender seen since the genocide, then I find great pleasure in telling you, that the Air Nomads are -- as their name suggests -- nomadic. There's probably a lot of them that escaped the attempted genocide and are scattered throughout the other three nations." To everyone's surprise, she relaxed and released her hold on both the daggers and the ice spikes. "If you want proof of someone being the Avatar, there's no better proof than seeing someone bend two elements."

Xena had never tried such a risky bluff before. Fighting was almost preferable to her, but she knew that this village was not a decent battleground and that the villagers could get caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out. She would never forgive herself if an innocent got hurt because of a fight she instigated. Aang was a sharp kid when he wanted to be and she felt the spike of fear and worry when he realized her plan.

"All you want is the Avatar, right? If I come with you, will you promise to leave this village and its occupants alone?"

"Xena, no!" Aang shouted, reaching forward to grab the back of her shirt.

"You'd give yourself up, just like that?"

"I would in order to protect those I care for."

The firebender released his daggers and straightened up. "Then I accept your terms."

"Xenia, you can't!" Katara shouted from behind her and Aang's grip on her shirt tightened even more as the soldiers stepped towards her with restraints and their spears held at the ready.

"I'll be fine, Katara," Xena assured. "Just make sure Aang stays out of trouble for me. Ok?"

She then pulled herself free from Aang and turned to face the young monk. He stared up at her teary eyed and concerned. "Listen to Katara and Sokka, alright? No more running onto boobytrapped ships."

He nodded and she lowered her voice so only he could hear what she said next. He nodded again sadly, but determination shined in his gray eyes and radiated through their bond as she stepped back and turned herself over to the Fire Nation soldiers. She didn't glance back as they tied her hands behind her back and marched her onto the ship.

" _ This time, I'm counting on you to do the saving." _

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With all of her training, nothing could prepare Xena for the jovial, old, and overweight man who greeted the returning firebenders on the deck of the ship.

"I must admit, Prince Zuko, that in all the years we've been on this voyage, I never thought you'd find yourself a girl. And quite a beautiful girl she is."

Xena didn't know if she should be flattered or creeped out by that, so instead, she kept her face free of emotion

"She's the Avatar, Uncle," The scarred firebender, Zuko, replied irritably before shouting at one of his men to set sail for the Fire Nation.

"That doesn't make her any less of a girl," His uncle replied and for a moment, Xena could have sworn there was a knowing gleam in his eyes as noticed her tribal tattoos. "Those are quite some interesting tattoos you have, dear. What do they mean if you don't mind me asking?"

"They're wolf warrior tattoos," She answered, eyes narrowing in recognition of the sharp intelligence in this man's eyes.

His eyes briefly shift to glance at her brow as if searching for something hidden by her bangs. She can tell that he knew - or at least suspected the truth. Shifting her bound hands, she touched the knife hidden by her long blue tunic.

"I wasn't aware that there were still wolf warriors in the South. I thought they all fled to the North when the raids started."

"The pack may flee their territory, but there's always a lone wolf who is too stubborn to leave. They are not difficult to find if you know where to look," She replied to the old man cryptically.

"Enough talking! You two, take the Avatar to the prison hold." Zuko snapped.

"Right away, your Highness."

As the soldiers began to lead her away, Xena could hear the prince's uncle make a complaint.

"Come now, Zuko. You could have at least let me ask her for her name."

Xena smiled to herself for a second in relief that her ruse had worked. She made no move to resist as the two guards escorted her into the depths of the ship, each with a tight grip on her shoulder. Unbeknownst to them, she didn’t plan on allowing them to take her to a cell.

"You know I can tell that you're not used to taking prisoners," She said nonchalantly, a small spark appearing as she quietly snapped her fingers. "For one, you haven't blindfolded me and it'll be quite easy for me to remember the path back to the deck." With minute motions of her fingers, she guides the spark down to the ropes. "Secondly, you didn't pat me down for weapons. I can see why you would make that mistake, though. I mean how many benders know how to use a weapon?"

"Silence," One of the guards ordered, his grip tightening on her shoulder in warning.

A sly smile appeared on the girl's face as she ignored his order. "Thirdly, you used a rope to tie a  _ firebender's  _ hands."

Having burned halfway through the ropes, it was a simple matter for Xena to break them with a harsh jerk of her hands. Following that action, she twisted free of their grip and brought her elbow crashing into the side of one soldier's side where it was only protected by a thin piece of hide armor instead of hard steel while simultaneously hooking her ankle around the other soldier's ankle to pull him off balance. Taken by surprise, they staggered away from her and she was quick to jump back a few steps to give herself more distance while she drew her whalebone knife and held it in a reverse grip.

The one she had tripped recovered first and rushed towards her. She slashed at him with the knife and he leaned back to avoid the blade before punching a ball of fire at her, falling for her feint. She ducked beneath his extended arm and brought her knee crashing into his groin. He hunched over with a high pitched squeal of pain and she used the new position to her advantage to knee him in the nose. He dropped like a stone and she stepped over him to face the other soldier who had recovered by then.

She wasted no time in attacking, punching a ball of fire with her knife hand and closing the distance between them as he made the mistake of splitting her flames instead of sidestepping them. Her shoulders slammed into his ribs as she tackled him into the hall wall. For a girl, she was surprisingly strong and the last thing he saw before she slammed his armored head into the wall was a pair of unnatural silver eyes that he could have sworn were brown just a few minutes ago.

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Xena let out an irritable sigh and tried to shrug off the pain from tackling a fully armored opponent. While effective, the move had not been one of her better ideas. To reduce further injury it would be best that she didn't get into any prolonged fights until she had made it to the top deck. Hopefully, Aang would have caught up with the ship by that time, so that she wouldn't have to engage in combat that required any use of her bending. She picked up her pace in an effort to distract herself and clear her head of the negative emotions surrounding the subject of her bending.

She rounded the corner of the hall in a sprint, A group of seven soldiers cut off their conversation in astonishment. Without slowing her momentum, she nimbly slipped around and between them. They quickly overcame their shock and made to grab her, but the narrow corridor and Xena's dexterity did not work in their favor. A small smile formed on the female warrior's face as she broke free from the packed group. The soldiers cursed and tried to reorient themselves in the narrow hall so they could give chase through the many twists and turns of the ship. Xena's smile was quick to fade as she turned another corner into a dead end.

"Damn it, I must have made a wrong turn somewhere."

Hearing her pursuers closing in on her, she ducked into an unlocked room and closed the door quietly behind her.

"Where did she go?"

"She must have turned onto a different hallway."

"We have to find her quick. The prince will have our heads if we let the Avatar escape."

Xena sighed and relaxed as their footsteps retreated, turning to investigate the room she ended up in. The good news was that should combat take place the room was more than spacious enough. The bad news was that it was the prince's bedroom and she had interrupted him in the process of changing clothes.

Face aflame, she purposefully kept her eyes from drifting below his waist as she stated as calmly as she could. "Well, this is a bit awkward."

The sound of her voice snapped the Fire Nation prince out of his shock. "How did you escape?!"

"Rope doesn't make for the best restraints when dealing with a firebender," She replied. "Uh, would you perhaps mind putting on some-" Her voice cracked as her gaze briefly flickered down and she let out an embarrassed cough. "Putting on some pants."

For a moment, it appeared the prince's anger over her escape would overpower his mortification at being caught in such a state of undress. To Xena's immense relief, he chose to cover up instead of attack. As he was distracted with pulling on some pants, she quickly slipped back into the hall and fled.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"This is not going to plan," Xena grumbled under her breath. "Please hurry, Aang."

After what seemed like a lifetime, but was in fact only a few minutes, Xena finally made it back to the deck with Zuko hot on her heels. Literally. Dodging to the left to avoid the prince's fireballs, she crashed into the back of a distracted soldier, sending him stumbling forward into a table where several men - including Zuko's uncle - were playing a card game.

An irritated noise escaped Xena's throat at her unusual clumsiness. She staggered away from the soldiers before sliding her left foot back and bringing her right hand up in front of her with the whalebone knife. A slight bend of the knees and she had regained a more solid stance to face the enraged - and still shirtless - prince. Outnumbered, with only a knife for a weapon, and unwilling to use her bending, Xena knew she was at a disadvantage. But disadvantage or not, she wouldn’t be anybody's prisoner.

"I was under the impression that you had turned yourself over willingly," The prince's uncle said as he calmly sipped a cup of tea and ignored his ruined game.

"I did, but I never said I'd stay," Xena replied without looking away from Zuko.

The air shimmered around Zuko's hands and Xena was quick to react, dodging the fireballs he shot at her. Her Inner Fire surged at her silent urging and with it came the use of the only bending ability she never turned away from. The dark gray metal deck and the snowy cliffs on either side took on a bluish cast while Zuko and his men took on a more reddish hue. Without having to turn, an image of her surroundings in all direction began to form in Xena's mind to match the varying levels of heat she could sense with her firebending.

Heat sensing was an ability most firebenders learned early on, but the advanced version that she used was something that only a few handful of firebending masters had ever achieved. Those that did learn this ability, that some called heat vision, normally had to sit in a meditative state to even achieve it. To Xena, it was as easy as breathing and an unexpected gift given to her by the Avatar who had saved her life. With this gift, she was able to predict the attack from the soldiers behind her as their core temperature rose. And more importantly, from above she could sense . . .

"Xena!"

Aang's shout startled the attacking soldiers and Xena used the distraction to her advantage. She jabbed one in the throat with the back end of her knife, then feinted a slash at another before tripping him when he leaned back away from the sharp blade, and finally, in a display of acrobatics worthy of her Air Nomad teachers, she flipped over the head of a third. Aang jumped off of Appa's head with his glider as Xena ran towards the edge of the ship. He let go of the glider with one hand to grab the extended arm Xena held up to him, but before he could grab her, a fireball punctured one of the rice paper wings. Aang let out a startled shout as he lost control of the glider and plummeted into the freezing ocean.

"Aang!" Xena's cry was echoed by two others.

Anger, sharp and hot, raced through the female warrior as Aang failed to resurface. She spun on her heels to face the responsible firebender as an almost animalistic snarl tore from her throat. Her eyes, once a warm brown, were now silver and cold as she glared at Zuko. She took a single menacing step forward when the ship rocked violently as the ocean exploded upward.

Aang rose high above the ship for a moment atop a spinning mass of water, both his eyes and arrow tattoos glowing. He landed on the ship and swung his staff with both hands, sending a large wave of water crashing across the deck in a breathtaking display of waterbending. The water split around Xena's furious form before it crashed into the soldiers and sent them colliding with the ship's railing. In a show of karmic justice, Zuko was the only one to be knocked over the railing.

The young Avatar staggered as the power of the Avatar State left him as quickly as it came. Concern overriding her anger, Xena quickly rushed to his side and caught him as his legs gave out.

"Are you alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He asked with a weak smile. "I'm fine, Xena."

Appa landed on the ship's deck beside them and the two Water Tribe siblings on his back rushed to Aang and Xena's side.

"Are you two ok-"

"How did you do that?" Sokka blurted out in awe, cutting off his sister to her annoyance.

"He's the Avatar," Xena said by way of explanation, helping Aang back to his feet.

"But I thought you were the Avatar."

"I don't recall ever saying I was the Avatar."

"But you used both waterbending and firebending."

"Well, you see, Sokka, I'm that myth that protects the Avatar." He backed down at her obvious irritation and Xena passed Aang's care off to Katara. "Get him on Appa."

"Where are you going?" The younger girl asked in surprise as Xena walked away from them.

Instead of responding, Xena grabbed a spear that one of the soldiers had dropped. Breaking the tip off with a quick stomp of her booted foot, she spun the makeshift staff and beckoned to the recovered soldiers.

"Who's first?"

The combat is fast and brutal, and by the end of it, Xena stood mostly untouched with a relaxed grip on two halves of the broken and scorched spear. Stepping over the bodies of concussed and unconscious soldiers, she made her way to the side of the ship where the prince had finally managed to pull himself back aboard. She pressed the sharp splintered end of one of the spear halves against his throat. For a moment, silver and amber eyes locked together in dual threats and promises of harm. To the outside observer, it might look like she was about to kill him or seriously maim him. However, that was not Xena's style; with a derisive - and very unladylike - snort, she knocked him out with a swift blow to the temple.

She dropped the broken spear to the deck and turned her back to him almost nonchalantly, offering a brief nod to the prince's uncle who was still calmly sitting and drinking tea.

"I never did get your name," He suddenly said.

"Nor I yours." She paused and glanced over her shoulder with an almost pleasant smile. "The name's Xenia Sky Dragon."

Recognition shone in the man's wise amber eyes as he tilted his head to her. "Iroh, Dragon of the West."

And with that strange but brief exchange, Xena quickly joined Aang and the Water Tribe siblings on Appa's back. All was quiet for several seconds as Aang directed Appa into the air and away from the ship.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of scary?" Sokka asked.

"I've been informed that I can be a bit intimidating at times."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar and his Guardian?" Katara finally asked after a few more minutes of flight.

"Because I never wanted to be the Avatar," Aang replied, resting his chin on his knees.

Xena shrugged when Katara glanced at her. "I was following his lead."

"The world has been waiting for nearly a century for the Avatar to return and put an end to the war."

Aang shook his head. "I'm just one kid and I wouldn't even know where to start.”

"Legend says you have to learn waterbending, then earth, and then fire," Katara replied, a hopeful gleam in her blue eyes.

Aang straightened and glanced at Xena. "That's what the monks told me."

Katara turned towards Xena, her optimism growing. "Xenia, you could teach him water-"

"Not happening," Xena cut her off.

"Why not?"

"I don't bend."

"But we saw you-"

"I don't bend unless I absolutely have to and that's not up for discussion."

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged surprised glances at her adamant refusal. Aang hesitated for a moment before offering the solution that Xena had shot down earlier that day.

"We could go to the North Pole."

Xena's jaw clenched and she nodded after a brief hesitation. "I don't like it, but we don't have much of a choice."

"Katara, you could learn with me?" Aang said with a bright smile.

Katara returned the smile. "And Sokka, you can knock some Fire Nation heads in along the way."

"I'd like that. I'd really like that," Sokka replied eagerly, stroking an imaginary beard as he thought.

"Then we're in this together!'

"Yay, go, team," Xena replied dryly before smiling. "Bet I'll beat more soldiers than you, Sokka."

"We'll see about that, Xenia," Sokka said challengingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give a brief explanation of Xena's name.  
> I'm aware that this is a Greek name, but at the time I named her, my fourteen-year-old mind decided I needed a badass name that started with a 'z' sound. I recalled that Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess was supposedly a badass fighter and decided it would work perfectly. Ironically, I had not and have not to this day ever watched Xena: Warrior Princess.


	4. The Last Airbender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Contains mentions of death. Read at your own risk.

The Southern Air Temple had been Aang's home for all twelve years of his life, and Xena's home for the past two and a half years. It was a place of happy memories for both up until the last few months before they left. While Aang and Xena had begun to repair their relationship they both knew that the temple they were returning to was not the same temple they had left. They dealt with the knowledge in their own separate ways. Aang put on a smile of optimistic naivety as he excitedly told the siblings about the temple while Xena busied herself repairing his staff.

Glider care and repair were one of the things that all airbending novices learned at a young age. Xena had learned as well from watching Aang, whose adventures often led to his glider being damaged. Replacing the waxy rice paper didn't take very long and Xena had just begun to reattach the wing back to his staff when Aang drew their attention to the Patoula Mountains.

"Those are some big mountains," Sokka said in awe as he gaped at the mist covered mountain range.

"It would take a month and a half to get to the air temple by foot," Xena informed him as she carefully tightened a screw. "Of course even if you were to walk through the mountain range, you would still need a flying bison or a glider to reach the temple itself."

"Which means that the airbenders were probably able to escape," Aang said with a hopeful smile. "Just because no one's seen them doesn't mean they don't exist."

"I don't know, Aang. I don't think you should get your hopes too high," Katara cautioned, watching the young monk in concern.

Instead of answering, Aang pulls Appa into a near vertical ascent. The Water Tribe siblings yelped in surprise and followed Xena's lead in grabbing onto the edge of the saddle. The blue tiles of the temple come into view below them as they rose over the mountain range.

"There it is!" Aang grinned as Appa levels out. "The Southern Air Temple."

"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara cried out in awe.

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If by amazing, Katara meant overran by plant life and in a state of disrepair, then Xena had to concur with that statement. As soon as the landed Aang jumped at the chance to give the siblings a tour of the temple with an optimistic smile. Xena was far less optimistic as she had already begun to accept the unfortunate truth. The Air Nomads really were gone. Aang's pain hit her like a punch in the gut when he too began to come to that same realization.

"What's wrong, Aang?" Katara asked in concern as the young monk stopped in the middle of the tour.

"It's just that this place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison and now," Aang paused to kick at a clump of grass growing up between the cracks in the stone walkway. "Now it's just full of weeds. I can't believe how much has changed."

Xena placed a hand on his shoulder as he sighed. She stared at the crumbling ruins of their old home. Frustration and anger at the Fire Nation overtook her for a moment as she felt Aang's sadness. She calmed some as Sokka spoke up in an effort to distract and cheer up the boy.

"So how was this airball game you mentioned played?"

Aang smiled. "Oh, it's really easy. See you just have to…"

As Aang began to explain the rules of the game, Xena slipped away to further explore the abandoned temple. Her exploration brought her to one courtyard that was overlooked by a familiar face.

"I would promise vengeance against the Fire Nation, but I know that would go against your beliefs," She told the statue of Gyatso before bowing. "Instead I promise to not seek the title of Avenger but to instead reaffirm my title as the Avatar's Guardian. I will protect Aang and keep the Fire Nation from ending his life as they did yours and the other airbenders."

Straightening up, she headed deeper into the temple. She was near the novices' living quarters when she noticed it. Scorch marks. Brushing her fingers against one of the marks, she found her steps slowing, afraid of what she would find if she continued. The doorknob of one of the doors felt cool in her palm and the click of the door opening seemed almost ominous in the silent hall. Her breath caught in her throat as the door slowly swung open. She staggered backward, running into the hall wall as she raised a hand to her mouth in horror.

"No, no, no," She repeated in denial.

Horrified, she staggered to another room and swung open the door then another until she had opened every room in the hallway. No matter how many rooms she opened it didn't change the truth.

"They were just kids!" She cried. "They were just kids. Just kids. . ."

The words she muttered were drowned out by her harsh breathing and sobs as tears began to run down her face. The images of what she had just seen were forever burned into her mind. Charred wood and blackened bone, ash and dust. They were just kids and they were killed without any mercy. Her mind rebelled against it all because she couldn't believe it was real. It couldn't be and yet the proof was right in front of her.

She didn't know how long she stood there before she found herself running, trying to escape the images spinning through her head. Every burn mark and broken statue or mural stood out to her as she ran, not even giving her the option to deny everything she had just seen. It got even worse when she reached the meadow where the air bison usually gathered.

Skeletons wearing black and red armor lay alongside and were outnumbered by those wearing tattered orange robes with a few larger animal skeletons scattered throughout the clearing. Xena staggered and fell to her knees.

Every optimistic thing she or Aang had said in regards to what happened to the airbenders ran through her mind. How could they ever have thought that any airbenders had survived? This really was a genocide. A rush of anger and devastation washed over her from her bond to Aang.

"Aang," She murmured quietly and forced herself to stand.

She staggered a few steps, before picking up her pace. Locating Aang in the temple was easy with their bond, and she pushed aside the tattered curtain to the crumbling hut gently. Sokka was the closest to her, crouched behind a barrel as he reached for Katara. The other girl was trying to force herself through the swirling air around Aang, who was trapped in the Avatar State. Xena clenched her jaw at the sight of the skeleton leaning against the wall. The necklace he wore was recognizable as the one Aang had made for Monk Gyatso. Forcing her gaze away, she began to move toward Aang. The wind parted around her, allowing her to approach with ease. The young Avatar turned to look at her with glowing eyes as she rested a gentle hand on his arm.

"Aang," She said softly.

At the sight of her own tears, he slowly relaxed and let the power go, slumping into her. She wrapped him in a hug, sharing their grief as Katara and Sokka looked on.

"I really am the last airbender," He sobbed into her shoulder, clinging tightly to her vest.

lxxxXXXxxxl

After Aang had finished crying, Xena had insisted they leave the temple and so they did with the addition of a flying lemur that had taken a liking to Aang. Katara and Sokka offered what support they could to the two, but Aang's false smiles and cheer made it difficult for them to offer him comfort while Xena just turned them away and found other ways to distract herself. It wasn't until night had fallen and the siblings went to sleep that they let all pretenses go.

"Aang?"

"Oh, Xena. I was just…" Aang trailed off and looked down at the hunk of wood he was carving with a small knife.

"It's alright, I know what you're doing. May I sit?"

Aang nodded and the older girl settled beside him on the edge of the cliff where they had made their campsite. They stared up at the star-filled sky in silence for several minutes, broken occasionally by the rasp of the knife against wood.

"If I could," Xena started, leaning forward to brace herself on her knees. "I would carry your grief for you."

"Gyatso used to say that trying to carry someone else's pain is like trying to bear the entire weight of the sky by yourself."

"Unfortunately my name is not Atlas," Xena replied. "So as much as I would like to make it so that you can never feel this pain, I can't."

"I forgot about that."

"About what?"

"Your love for ancient mythology. You and Gyatso used to sit for hours just talking about it."

They lapsed into silence again for several minutes before Aang spoke again.

"He's was as much a father to you as he was to me, wasn't he? This entire time I’ve been wondering why I had to lose everything I cared about without even thinking about you. You've lost as much as I have if not more."

"But the difference is, I'm used to loss. You aren't."

"You know that doesn't make me feel better, right?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just. . . trying to deal with this the best way I can."

"What are we going to do now?"

"Now," Xena started as she stood. "We're going to go to the Northern Water Tribe so you can learn waterbending and then we're going to find you an earthbending teacher and then a firebending teacher so that we can defeat the Fire Nation and make sure what happened to the Air Nomads doesn't happen to the other two nations.

"But before that. . . Before that, we are going to lay the dead to rest. That is if you are open to making a trip back to the temple tonight."

Aang glanced towards the sleeping Water Tribe siblings. "What about them?"

"We'll be back before they wake up, but we can leave a note just in case we don't."

"Okay."

lxxxXXXxxxl

They made it back to the campsite just as the siblings were waking up, both covered in mud and soot. Sokka wanted to know where they had been, but Katara shushed him in understanding. After having cleaned themselves up and eating breakfast, Xena stood at the edge of the cliff staring in the direction of the temple at the plume of smoke from the pyre for the Fire Nation soldiers that she had lit at Aang's behest. The young monk was always the forgiving one even to those who didn't deserve it. Just one of the many reasons, she hadn't run away from her duty as his Guardian.

"Xenia?"

She turned as Katara called her name. "Sorry, we can go now."

She walked towards Appa and as she passed by the other Water Tribe girl she faltered to add something.

"Oh, and Katara. Just Xena is fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by Lily.


End file.
